Southern Miss Spring Football Report: Day 9

Second scrimmage finished for the Golden Eagles

April 8, 2017

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Golden Eagles' second scrimmage is officially in the books. The team met Saturday morning in The Rock for an extended look at how things will shape out for the rest of the spring season.

Isaiah Jones made a few great catches deep down the field, and Kelsey Douglas returned an interception untouched for a score. The squad made the most out of situations from inside its own five-yard line, to two-minute drills and other key situations.

On how he viewed the practice "I thought we made some plays. I thought the receivers had a good day. Keon Howard and Kwadra Griggs did some good things and Ito had some good runs. It was competitive and there was some juice flowing. We're still competing. We will go in here and evaluate the film and grade them a little bit. There's a lot of competition on each side of the ball."

On who stood out the most "Isaiah Jones had a nice job. He had a real good day. He has that big play capability and it's good to see that. He's got a world of potential and we are looking to see a lot out of him. He stood out as much as anyone today."

On keeping the team motivated despite no game for a few months "I think you have to emphasize it daily. As far as I'm concerned, the season starts today. We still have another scrimmage. This is our first real one where we had some contact periods at first. We will see a lot more on the 22nd."

On how his spring has gone so far "I feel good about practicing. We get a lot of time with our receivers. The offensive line does a great job and we continue to get time with each other. We did well but could be better. We just have to do our assignments and not try to be heroes. You have to just compete and work hard."

On his relationship with offensive coordinator/QBs coach Shannon Dawson "Coach Dawson and I do a lot of extra film at nighttime, in the morning, before class, after class, whenever possible. It's all about building a great bond between your coach and quarterback."

On how he viewed the scrimmage "The offense came out aggressive today and the defense was spreading the wealth later in the scrimmage. We just have to clean up a few things like any normal day."

On how defensive line will change without key contributors from previous season "It's just me and a few young guys. We have guys like LaDarius Harris who got a lot of playing time last year. We have several young guys who had some great experience last year as well. You just have to build chemistry on and off the field and come together as much as we can as a team or offensive or defensive unit. Every day I come out and try to lead in both the field and weight room by doing the right stuff."

On how it feels to practice without a game until September "Just don't forget the why; why we are out here. You hear in the locker room all the time about guys waiting for that season opener. You just have to tell them all 'it's coming.' I know we aren't gonna lose focus, because it's coming."